Calendar attachment

ABSTRACT

A calendar attachment for jewelry and the like comprising a casing having an upper plate and a lower plate, means for securing the casing to the jewelry, a first dial within the casing rotatably secured to the upper plate portion having a first set of indicia thereon, a second dial rotatably secured to the lower plate portion having a second set of indicia thereon, the dials being partially overlapping and offset in opposite directions with their rims partially protruding beyond opposite sides of the casing, and means for selecting indicia by rotation of the dials.

United States Patent [191 Bersche 1 Oct. 23, 1973 CALENDAR ATTACHMENT [76] Inventor: Fridolin E. Bersche, 407

Bellefontaine Dr., Waterloo, 111. 62298 [22] Filed: Jan. 26, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 220,778

[52] U.S. Cl. 40/113 [51] Int. Cl. 60% 3/08 [58] Field of Search ..40/107,111,l13-115, 40/2l' C [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 397,774 2/1889 Briggs 40/113 X 487,480 12/1892 Graff 3,340,630 9/1967 Becker.... 3,628,270 12/1971 Fleming 40/113 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,004,119 11/1951 France 40/113 4/1938 Great Britain... 40/115 315,970 9/1956 Switzerland.'..... 40/113 422,637 5/1923 Germany 40/113 772,436 4/1957 Great Britain 40/21 C 498,345 9/1954 Italy 40/113 Primary Examiner-Robert W. Michell Assistant Examiner-J. H. Wolfe Attorney-John M. Howell [57'] ABSTRACT A calendar attachment for jewelry and the like comprising a'ca'sing having an upper plate and a lower .plate, means for securing the casing to the jewelry, a

first dial within the casing rotatably secured to the upper plate portion having a first set of indicia thereon, a second dial rotatably secured to the lower plate portion having a second set of indicia thereon, the dials being partially overlapping and offset in opposite directions with their rims partially protruding beyond opposite sides of the casing, and means for selecting indicia by rotation of the dials.

6 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures CALENDAR ATTACHMENT SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a novel calendar unit design for use with jewelry such as watchbands, bracelets, and the like and more particularly to one which is perpetual and-manually adjustable to indicate the correct calendar date.

There are various kinds of calendar attachments in existence, but they are either too large, have very small and difficult-to-see numerals, are relatively expensive to manufacture, or have a combination of thesedisadvantages. Hence, it is oneof the-primary objects of this invention to providea calendar unit of this type which is. compact yet has relatively large and easily visible numerals. This invention satisfies this objective and has other novel features as will become apparent.

I The calendar unit of this invention generally includes a casing preferably of unitary construction having an upper plate portion and a lower plate portion and means for securing the casing to the jewelry for which it is intended such as a watchband, bracelet, or the like. The upper plate portion includes two apertures, one positioned very close to one of its sides and the other positioned slightly inwardly therefrom. A first dial, having the numerals zero through nine thereon, is rotatably mounted to the bottom plate portion and slightly offset with respect thereto such that its rim protrudes partially past theside of the casing nearest the apertures. A second dial, having the numerals one through three and a blank space thereon, is rotatably mounted within the casing to the upper plate portion and slightly offset therefrom in a direction opposite to that of the first dial with its rim partially protruding beyond the opposite side of the casing. The numerals on.the first dial are aligned with the outermost aperture, and the numerals on.the second dial are aligned with the inwardly spaced aperture, whereby rotation of the dials changes the numerals showing throughthe apertures. The dials partially overlap within the casing to greatly compact the unit, and yet the design allows the numerals to be rela- I tively large for easy visibility.

Because the casing can be of unitary construction and there are so few parts, the unit can be manufactured very inexpensively.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the calendar attachment of this invention shown mounted on the band of a wristwatch;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the calendar attachment of this invention;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of the invention of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a left end elevation view of the invention of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view in section taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view in section taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view in section taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 1; and 1 FIG. 8 is an isometric view of the calendar attachment of this invention shown in its open configuration before final assembly to better illustrate how it is constructed.

- DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the drawing there is shown a calendar attachment device 10 of this invention, as shown in FIG. I mounted to a watchband 11', the device havinga casing 12, preferably of one-piece construction as best shown in FIG. 8, comprising a top plate portion 14 and a bottom plate portion 15 joined together at one side in a short vertical wall section 17.

,The lower plate portion 15 has outwardly curved side edges and 21 and an open end formed in a short vertical wall 23 which is parallel to and of the same height as the wall 17.-The top of the wall 23 is formed in an outwardly projecting shoulder 25 having spaced notches 26. g

The top plate'portion 14 of the casing 12 has outwardly'curved opposite side edges and 31 of generally the same shape as the edges 20 and 21 of the lower plate 15, and an open end 35 having short outwardly extending tabs 36 spaced to fit within the notches 26. Projecting outwardly from each side of the top plate portion 14 is a tab 40 preferably shaped as a generally semi-oval fiat ring as clearly shown in the drawing. The

tabs 40 protrude sufficiently past the side edges of the casing so that they can be bent around a watchband, bracelet, charm, or the like for holding the unit in place, but without overlapping on the opposite side. The top plate portion 14 includes apertures 43 and 44, the aperture 43 being positioned very near the edge 31 and the aperture 44 being spaced slightly inwardly therefrom.

The entire casing 14, including the upper and lower plate portions 14 and 15, the walls 17 and 23, the shoulder 25, and thetabs 36 and 40, is preferably a one-piece integral unit made of aluminum or other nontarnishable materiaL'and of any desired color..lt would, of course, be possible to make the casing 14 in sections in which case some of the parts could be made of plastic. The tabs 40 should be strong enough to keep their shape ,yet pliable enough to permit bending around a watchband or the like.

The tabs 40'could also be made straight as shown by the dashed lines of FIG. 2 although the semi-oval design is preferred as it provides a more comfortable and secure fit.

A circular dial is rotatably mounted at its center by a rivet 51, or other suitable means, to the lower casing portion 15 and slightly offset with its rim projecting slightly beyond the edges 21 and 31. A curved friction spring 53 is mounted between the rivet 51 and the dial 50 at the front side of the dial to hold the dial firmly while allowing it to be rotated.

A dial 55 somewhat smaller than the dial 50 is pivotally mounted at its center by a rivet 57, or other suitable means, to the upper plate portion 14 and slightly offset in a direction opposite to that of the dial 50 such that its rim protrudes slightly beyond the sides 20 and 30. A curved friction spring 59 is mounted between the' rivet 57 and the dial 55 on the back side of the dial to hold the dial firmly in place while allowing it to be rotated.

The rims of both dials are cross-grooved as at 60 to provide a friction surface for rotating the dials, such as with the thumb or finger.

The dial 50 has thereon the numerals zero through nine, as best shown in FIG. 8, which are aligned with the aperture 43 in the upper plate portion 14, and the dial 55 has the numerals one through three and a blank portion thereon, as best shown in FIG. 2, which are aligned with the aperture in the upper plate portion 14. The numerals on each of the dials may be imprinted or impressed thereon but preferably do not extend above the surface of the dial to reduce friction and wear.

It is one of the novel features of this invention that it provides relatively large numerals that are easily seen and easily changed. The large dial 50 allows sufficient space for the numbers zero through nine, and the novel design, including the relative positioning of the aperture 43 and mounting of the dial 50, allows the numerals zero through nine to be placed near the rim of the dial 50 to allow their size to be relatively great while providing sufficient space therebetween so that a single, well-defined numeral can be positioned behind the aperture 43. Although the dial 55 is smaller, its relative position with respect to the dial S and the aperture 44, and the need for only the three numbers 1 through 3 and a blank space thereon, allows its numerals to be the same size as those on the dial 50. The total design including the overlapping dials provides a very compact unit with easily visible and easily changeable numerals.

As is obvious from the foregoing description, the unit is finally assembled by holding the upper plate portion 14 down on top of the lower plate portion 15 and bending the tabs 36 into and under the notches 26. The unit is then mounted to a watchband, bracelet, or the like by bending the tabs 40 around opposite sides thereof. The date is set by turning the dials 50 and 55 with a thumb or finger against their protruding rims until the correct date shows in the apertures 43 or 44. Preferably the numerals are oriented on the dials such that forward movement of their protruding rims produces an upscale rotation.

Various changes and modifications may be made in this invention, as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications are within the scope and teaching of this invention as defined by the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

1. A self-contained calendar device for attachment to jewelry and the like comprising an integral one-piece casing having an upper plate portion, a lower plate portion, said portion having side edges, a first dial, means for rotatably mounting said first dial about its center to the upper plate portion with its rim extending partially beyond one side edge of the casing, a second dial means for rotatably mounting said second dial about its center to the lower plate portion with its rim protruding partially beyond the opposite side edge of the casing, the dials being partially overlapping and offset from each other the casing being formed in one piece from a sheet material, the upper and lower plate portions being joined by a short wall portion at which the casing is foldable to place the upper plate portion with the first dial mounted thereto over the lower plate portion with the second dial mounted thereto such that the dials are withinthe casing, means for holding the free edges of the upper and lower plate portions opposite the short wall portion together, means for indicating at the outer surface of the upper plate portion a selected date in response to rotation of the dials to a selected position, and means for securing the device to the jewelry and the like for viewing the outer surface of the upper plate portion.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the securing means includes tabs extending from opposite side edges of the casing adaptable to be bent around the jewelry and the like to which the device is secured, the tabs being formed integrally with the upper and lower plate and short wall portions from the sheet material.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein the tabs are semioval rings.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein the second dial is larger in diameter than the first.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein the first dial has indicia thereon which includes the numerals l, 2, 3, and a blank space, and the second dial has indicia thereon which includes the numerals zero through nine.

6. The device of claim 1 including spring means adjacent each dial and its rotatably mounting means for holding the dial securely in resisting rotation thereof.

IK ll 

1. A self-contained calendar device for attachment to jewelry and the like comprising an integral one-piece casing having an upper plate portion, a lower plate portion, said portion having side edges, a first dial, means for rotatably mounting said first dial about its center to the upper plate portion with its rim extending partially beyond one side edge of the casing, a second dial means for rotatably mounting said second dial about its center to the lower plate portion with its rim protruding partially beyond the opposite side edge of the casing, the dials being partially overlapping and offset from each other the casing being formed in one piece from a sheet material, the upper and lower plate portions being joined by a short wall portion at which the casing is foldable to place the upper plate portion with the first dial mounted thereto over the lower plate portion with the second dial mounted thereto such that the dials are within the casing, means for holding the free edges of the upper and lower plate portions opposite the short wall portion together, means for indicating at the outer surface of the upper plate portion a selected date in response to rotation of the dials to a selected position, and means for securing the device to the jewelry and the like for viewing the outer surface of the upper plate portion.
 2. The device of claim 1 wherein the securing means includes tabs extending from opposite side edges of the casing adaptable to be bent around the jewelry and the like to which the device is secured, the tabs being formed integrally with the upper and lower plate and short wall portions from the sheet material.
 3. The device of claim 2 wherein the tabs are semi-oval rings.
 4. The device of claim 1 wherein the second dial is larger in diameter than the first.
 5. The device of claim 1 wherein the first dial has indicia thereon which includes the numerals 1, 2, 3, and a blank space, and the second dial has indicia thereon which includes the numerals zero through nine.
 6. The device of claim 1 including spring means adjacent each dial and its rotatably mounting means for holding the dial securely in resisting rotation thereof. 